Australia’s closest South Pac neighbour is seeing a swell in Aussie tourists with record visitors so far this year. New Caledonia has already welcomed almost 14,000 Australian arrivals in 2023, up 29 per cent on 2019 numbers.
From January – June 2023, 13,853 Aussie travellers visited New Caledonia, making Australia the second-largest market for the island nation after Metropolitan France.
In addition, Aircalin announced the resumption of its Melbourne-Noumea route from 8 December 2023, paused due to the pandemic.
The national carrier already has direct routes from Sydney and Brisbane to Noumea with the South Pac nation easily accessible within 3.5 hours’ flying time from Australia.
Since restrictions lifted in August 2022, Australians proved keen to return to New Caledonia, blitzing pre-pandemic visitor numbers in December.
New Caledonia Tourism Australia Account Director Rebecca Marshal said the nation’s popularity has only continued to rise among Australian tourists.
“The allure of New Caledonia continues to entice more travellers to our beautiful destination and we’re excited Aircalin is now bringing back the opportunity for Victorians to easily travel to Noumea,” she said.
Aircalin General Manager Australia Chris Thistlethwaite added: “As Australia’s closest South Pacific neighbour, New Caledonia offers a plethora of holiday options for Victorians with a flight time of 3 hours and 35 minutes from Melbourne.”
New Caledonia recently launched a new brand campaign, targeting Aussie and Kiwi holidaymakers.
Read our firsthand travel experience of a New Caledonia getaway here.
For more info, head to newcaledonia.travel/au